03 November 2006
Germany's Jewish community has honored one of the leading publishers in the country whose father profited from the disenfranchisement of Jews in Nazi Germany. Hubert Burda, 66, head of Munich-based Burda Media, has received the Central Council of Jews' prestigious Leo Baeck Prize in recognition of his efforts to repair the wrongs committed by the preceding generation. Burda's father, who joined the Nazi party in 1938, acquired one of Germany's most modern and largest printing presses from the firm of Berthold, Ludwig and Karl Reiss, who were forced under the Nazis to sell at a tremendous loss. Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, gave the prize to Burda in a ceremony on Thursday. Burda, who took over his father's publishing business in 1966, has been active in building connections between Jews and non-Jews in Germany, promoting close ties with Israel and supporting the revival of Jewish life in his home city of Munich, including a donation of around US$ 1.3 million toward Munich's new Jewish community center, to be inaugurated next week.